


break the distance

by kudou



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Online Relationship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, both of them are really dense, kaito was never kid, ran and hakuba will be there more prominently eventually i promise, shinichi was never conan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2019-03-14 13:19:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13590879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kudou/pseuds/kudou
Summary: In which Kaito and Shinichi are best friends and talk everyday without fail, there for each other through thick and thin.Also, they're 7000 miles apart and have never met in person.





	1. 'cause when you see the sun, i see the moon

**Author's Note:**

> OH BOY HELLO... this is my first chapter fic so pls go easy on me. if i'm being honest i kind of still don't know what i'm doing  
> i've been working on this since the beginning of december and ik this chapter is pretty short but the next one will be much longer!!  
> i'm not very good at working on things when i'm supposed to so... i'll do my best to adhere to an update schedule but no promises hah..a...ha.........  
> anyways here we go!! university online friends/ldr au. i know the tag says online relationship we'll get there eventually  
> this isn't technically beta'd so i apologize for any errors!! pls enjoy!!

When he graduated high school, Shinichi expected that he’d get the college experience™️ at a university in New York, pass his classes easily, and manage about the same as he had in high school. Afterwards he’d probably become a private investigator of some sort or join the police force.

He hadn’t expected that he’d be on Skype at every opportunity and already studying soon after waking up for exams. He’d just completed a multiple-hour study session last night.

When he graduated high school, Kaito expected that he’d go to university in Tokyo, pass his classes easily, eventually figure out which program would fit him best, and manage about the same as he had in high school. Afterwards he’d definitely become a world-renowned magician, or at least book a few shows here and there and make his way to the top.

He hadn’t expected that he’d be… 

That he’d be...

“...Kaito?”

He jerked up at the call of his name, eyes wide as he was roused from his half-asleep, half-awake state. When his fight-or-flight response realized that this was, in fact, not a fight-or-flight situation, Kaito slumped back on his desk with a groggy sigh.

He hadn’t expected that he’d be here, falling asleep in front of his computer while talking to his best friend in lieu of, well, actually sleeping in an actual bed. 

“Shinichi,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes with his palms while still regaining his weak grip on consciousness. “it’s too early, go away, five more minutes, ‘n all that.” 

Shinichi rolled his eyes, unnoticed as Kaito continued to rub at his face in a vain attempt at waking up more. “I’m not forcing you to stay up,” he said, staring at the small window on his computer screen. “I told you to go to bed hours ago.”

“But I wanna talk,” Kaito grumbled, now fully faceplanted into his desk. 

“That’s not a good enough excuse to stay up super late when you have classes tomorrow.”

At the mention of school, Kaito let out another groan. 

“See? You’re going to be dead tired if you don’t go to sleep now. It’s already—” He pulled up the world clock on his phone, and Kaito looked up in time to see the disgruntled look on Shinichi’s face, “—3 am there. Go to bed.”

“Man, 7000 miles away and you still manage to nag like a mom would,” Kaito pouted. “Are you gonna have kids one day, Shinichi? You’d be great at the whole ‘strict parent’ thing. And I’d be the cool dad, obviously.”

Shinichi huffed, resting his cheek on his palm. “Obviously. Drooling on your desk is a really good start to the ‘cool dad’ life.” 

He smirked when Kaito quickly swiped a hand across his mouth only to find it dry, and pointedly gave him a dirty look through his webcam. 

How scathing his looks would be in person, as opposed to on a video call, Shinichi wondered suddenly. How their comfortable silences would translate; if they’d still be as comfortable when they could actually sit across from each other. If when they’d finally be under the sun, the moon, the stars at the same time, nothing would be different than when they gazed up at them from opposite sides of the globe.

If under that sun, moon, and those stars, Kaito would still shine impossibly brighter. A heavenly body of his own, far too brilliant for a simple planet like Shinichi: A dull gas giant. A failed star. 

Well, it wasn’t worth it to wax poetic about Kaito’s... celestial qualities when they were still this far apart. He’d get his answers eventually. 

Of course, it would be nice if “eventually” was sooner rather than later.

Shinichi snapped back into reality when out of all of Kaito’s grumbling, he knocked supplies he’d been using to “study” earlier—Shinichi argued that nobody actually studies effectively past 1 am, especially in the middle of a Skype call—on the ground, shouting out louder than necessary. Shinichi chuckled quietly, knowing the boy who lived in the dorm adjacent to Kaito would probably have some choice words for him in the morning. 

“Why are you laughing at my pain?” Kaito whined, wearing his best kicked puppy look. “Comfort me in my time of need.”

Shinichi waved a hand in the air, brushing him off, as he took a swig from his coffee mug. “You’ll live.”

“I won’t,” he argued petulantly. “You better come over here and visit me on my deathbed.”

“I’ll try and fit it in my schedule somewhere. Can you plan around exams?”

“You’re such a pain.”

“I do my best,” Shinichi said with a smug smile. “But if it’s such a hindrance to you, I’m getting off Skype so you can go to bed.”

Kaito folded his arms on the desk and rested his head on them. He closed his eyes as he said, “Maybe I have other friends to Skype with, so you leaving is irrelevant. You don’t know.”

“At 3 am? With who?” Shinichi asked skeptically.

“I dunno. Hakuba.”

“The guy that’s probably filing a noise complaint against you as we speak?”

“Yeah,” Kaito affirmed. “I’m gonna have a little study date at 3 am with the guy filing a noise complaint against me, do you have a problem with that?”

Shinichi rolled his eyes a second time as he packed things in his bag for later. “Of course not. Have fun with your late-night study date.”

“Thank you for your blessing,” Kaito grinned drowsily, choosing to ignore the sarcasm lacing Shinichi's comment. He hadn’t reopened his eyes since he closed them earlier, and it was a fight to stay awake. “Good luck at your classes.”

Shinichi focused back on his laptop, eyes now fixed to the window as he spoke. “Thanks. Sleep well.”

“Thanks. G’night,” Kaito mumbled, clearly expecting Shinichi to take the liberty of ending the call. If he hadn’t been distracted by Kaito’s sleepy face squished against his arms, Shinichi likely would have scolded him to not fall asleep right at his desk. 

“Goodnight,” he said softly instead, moving to click the red ‘end call’ button.

_ God, I’m in way too deep,  _ he thought as soon as they were disconnected. With 45 minutes left until his first class, he shambled to his tiny kitchen area to make another cup of coffee.


	2. oh, i wish it wasn't so far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello. i hope the wait wasn't too long for this chapter!!  
> i know i said this one would be longer than the first, but i made a little change of plans;;  
> the next chapter will be a direct continuation of this one!  
> enjoy!!

“So, like, a deep web business wouldn’t be that implausible, would it?”

Shinichi threw an incredulous look at his screen, grateful that he had headphones in and he went to a predominantly English-speaking university. He didn’t need anyone near him in the library submitting a tip about him to the campus police because of Kaito’s… imaginative questions. 

He glanced at the time, reading 10:26 pm, and it occurred to him that he had been there for two and a half hours already before staring back down at his textbook. There was a while where the two boys had sat in silence, Shinichi doing homework while Kaito did… something. Shinichi would give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was also doing homework.

“I’m pretty sure it would be,” Shinichi responded quietly. “There’s a reason it’s so out of the way.”

“But how many people actually get caught?” Kaito leaned back in his desk chair, staring at the ceiling like it would give him answers. “I mean, if it’s still up and running, it’s gotta be kinda reliable.” 

_ "Reliable," _ Shinichi scoffed. “Remember what the damn place is called. That’s suspicious enough by itself.” 

Kaito sat forward again. “People go to suspicious-sounding places all the time without thinking about it. There’s, what, 10 million ghost-hunting shows on TV?”

At this point, Shinichi had put a pause on his homework, knowing he wouldn’t get very far while holding a conversation, much less this one. His gaze wandered aimlessly around the library, the large space lit by clinical fluorescent lights but filled reassuringly with other students that were just as stressed as he was. Ah, college. What a comforting place to be.

“I’m pretty sure those shows don’t involve drugs and hitmen and other illegal stuff,” Shinichi said. He assured himself that even if there were other Japanese students listening, this couldn’t have been the weirdest thing they had heard here. 

“Whatever,” Kaito dismissed. He played with two pens, twirling one in each hand between his fingers. It was safe to say that any study-related train of thought had already pulled away from the station and left him stranded on the platform. “I’m dropping out and selling drugs on the deep web. Care to join me?” 

Shinichi tapped his pencil against his cheek as he refocused on his homework and read thoughtfully through a question. Somewhat absently, he replied, “Look, I love you and all, but I’m not getting arrested for you.”

Kaito fumbled one of his pens when Shinichi spoke, nearly dropping it but recovering quickly. His choice of words… it wasn’t like they had never said that to each other before—they had been friends for years, after all, and he felt like a child with the effect it had on him. However, hearing it was still…

He tried not to think about it too much. 

(He failed.)

Probably too much time had passed by the time Kaito came up with a substantial reply, and he hoped Shinichi was too preoccupied with his work to notice. “Come on, a true friend would partner up with me for this. Should I go ask Hakuba instead?”

A pronounced  _ “not interested”  _ rang from outside his dorm and Kaito jumped, actually dropping his pens this time. He heard Shinichi snickering to himself as he retrieved his writing utensils from the floor, and he concluded that he needed better friends.  _ Better acquaintances, too, _ he thought as he shot a scandalized look to the door. Where were all the trustworthy business partners when you needed them?

“He’ll warm up to the idea, just you wait.” Kaito winked at his webcam and propped his feet on his desk. Shinichi looked up at the Skype window in the same moment, and promptly pushed his pencil to the paper too hard, ripping a small portion of it. He tsked, furrowing his brow in annoyance at both the paper and his own feelings. Curse Kaito Kuroba for having the ability to be so casually attractive.

“Right,” Shinichi replied sarcastically as he performed damage control on his work. “You can tell me all about your plans for that when I move the call to my phone. I can finish the rest of these problems tomorrow, so I’m leaving.” 

“Alrighty. Talk to you in a bit. And I expect we  _ will  _ come to an arrangement eventually.”

“Uh huh,” Shinichi said cynically, ending the call and closing his laptop. He stared ruefully at the small hole torn in his homework, shouting at him a reminder of his own humiliation.

_ No, _ he was not being overdramatic.

After gathering his materials and packing them into his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and plugged his headphones into his phone. A quick navigation to his recent calls list and he was connected to Kaito again. 

“Please shoot me, it’s December and I have to walk all the way back to my dorm now,” Shinichi said in lieu of a greeting as soon as he heard the line pick up. He shoved his hands into his coat pockets, mentally scolding himself for not bringing gloves. 

“That’s what you get for living in a dorm as a sophomore,” Kaito retorted, currently raiding his own  _ dorm  _ fridge for lunch. “Imagine, you could be going back to your car instead and then to a warm, comforting home.”

“People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” Shinichi deadpanned. “That would be much nicer, though.” He considered the possibilities as he walked briskly, hands shoved in his pockets for any measly chance at warmth he could get. 

He’d been in a dorm since his freshman year. In a quick decision before housing applications closed for the next year, Shinichi had assumed that still being as close as possible to campus would be worth the cost (though the Kudous weren’t exactly pressed for money) and living conditions. 

Clearly, it was the wrong assumption to make. He passed the parking garage and wistfully glanced at it and its lack of a car that belonged to him. Another ten minutes to go. 

“Wouldn’t it?” Kaito replied absently. In a fit of indulgence, his mind supplied him with the idea of one day sharing an apartment with Shinichi. Snippets of domestic life flashed through his mind, from cooking together to gazing at the stars from their balcony to the small trinkets and decorations they’d collect to make it a home. 

Well, that was all his thoughts were: an indulgence. It would already be a while until they could even be under those same stars simultaneously, much less watching them from their shared apartment. 

He thinks no one would fault him for indulging a bit longer. As it was, he was in the middle of a conversation, however one-sided it may have been while he spaced out, so it would have to wait. He hoped Shinichi hadn’t noticed his sudden quiet.

“...and the FBI convicted that guy running the really big drug marketplace,” Shinichi said. Ah, they were on this topic again. Kaito wasn’t sure how they’d gotten back to it, but he was confident in his ability to jump back in with no problem. “He probably thought he was untraceable, just like all the others who buy and sell things there, but clearly there was some way they were able to gather enough evidence against him.”

“Well, if we have my pure charm, and your brilliant reasoning and intellect, we could be that guy. Except not in jail,” Kaito said, smirking as if he’d figured it all out. Shinichi let out a  _ tch, _ still not buying it even as a hypothetical.

“Flattery will get you nowhere on the deep web,” he retorted. 

Despite the topic, their conversation flowed easily and familiarly as Shinichi neared his dorm. He raised a hand in greeting to the RA manning the front desk, awkwardly stayed silent in the elevator when he had to share it with another person, and swiftly breezed past the lounge before anyone possibly inside could notice him passing by. 

Such was his routine often, and he was simply thankful that Kaito was there to make it tolerable. Enjoyable, even, if he was feeling generous enough.


	3. if i had a chance, i'd take it faster than a heartbeat

The first thing Shinichi did once he stepped inside dorm was fall face first into his bed, releasing a muffled groan as he finally got to relax and warm up. He ignored Kaito’s complaining about the headphone mic rubbing against the blankets, electing to instead lay silently and unwind.

Shinichi spent the new few minutes that way, to the point where Kaito thought he might have fallen asleep, before suddenly rolling over onto his back and sighing dejectedly.

“The fact that I have to get up again is the worst part of this,” he lamented.

“Jesus, you scared me,” Kaito said at Shinichi’s sudden words. “And I was actually going back to being productive, too.”

“‘Going back to being productive’ implies you were being productive in the first place.”

“Hey, fuck you, I totally was.”

“Right,” Shinichi said. Kaito could hear the smug smile in his voice and mentally hit himself for finding it endearing.

Shinichi startled when his text tone went off through his headphones. A quick glance at his phone revealed it to be from Ran, asking if he was busy tomorrow. Or, rather, threatening that if he didn’t make time for his _most beloved childhood friend_ (a direct quote) there would be consequences.

Asking, threatening, same thing, really. Shinichi had long since learned how to translate Ran’s warnings into a normal way of speaking.

Kaito had started speaking again while the detective read the text, prompting Shinichi to ask him to repeat what he’d said.

“Jeez, Shinichi, how rude,” Kaito complained. “How would you like it if I didn’t pay attention when you were talking?”

“Isn’t that what you were doing for half of our conversation earlier?” Shinichi scoffed.

 _Damn it,_ Kaito thought, caught red-handed.

“I did no such thing!” Kaito exaggerated the offense in his tone and quickly changed the subject, vehemently not admitting to anything. “ _Anyways_ , what could’ve possibly taken your attention away from my stellar conversational skills?”

“Laying it on a bit thick, aren’t you?” Shinichi laughed sardonically, clearly not fooled by the diversion. He went along with it anyway, as he did often. It was usually easier than challenge it and be met with only more dramatics. “Ran texted and said that we’re hanging out tomorrow.”

“Based on your word choice I’m guessing you didn’t have much of a say in it?”

“You guessed correctly. She used the ‘childhood friend’ card and everything.”

Kaito hummed in faux sympathy, familiar with the tactics Ran used against Shinichi by now. It was funny to him; Shinichi acted as if it pained him so much to see his best friend, but Kaito knew of their mutual fondness. Years ago, he might’ve mistook it as romantic, but with some subtle prying he had unlocked the story of their long, painful transition from “high school sweethearts” to “brother and sister.”

Kaito couldn’t say he was _ungrateful_ for that development, however pitiful it was for all parties involved, but that’s a different story.

“I’m sure you guys will have fun, though!” Kaito said optimistically. In contrast, Shinichi let out a strained “ _yeah_.”

“I know you’re a softie, Shinichi, no need to hide it.”

“Fuck you,” Shinichi countered without missing a beat. “I have a reputation.”

“Full offense, you’re like, a puppy. Or something equally as cute,” Kaito said without thinking, and only moments later did he actually process it. He hadn’t even hesitated, and it probably came out a lot more casual than how he felt (which, for the record, was sudden and extreme panic because he just called Shinichi as cute as a puppy, who does that, what the hell), so he hoped Shinichi interpreted it just as casually.

“I have a _reputation,_ ” Shinichi insisted, much to Kaito’s relief. What he wasn’t aware of, however, was the intense blush that had settled on Shinichi’s cheeks.

The comment might have come across as simply offhand, but that wasn’t going to stop him from thinking about it for probably the rest of his life.

“Hm, your personality is probably more like a cat’s, to be fair,” Kaito added contemplatively.

“So, are you a furry now?”

_“No.”_

“It’s okay, I respect your life choices. I’m glad you opened up to me about this.”

“How does comparing you to animals make me a furry?” Kaito demanded. “That implies that I’m, like, attracted to you because you have animal qualities.”

Shinichi paused. “Are you attracted to me for other qualities?”

“What? No,” Kaito answered a moment too fast. Shinichi ignored the sudden pang in his chest. “I mean, you’re an attractive guy, I’m sure you know that, lots of people think that. Theoretically, hypothetically, whatever, you have attractive qualities, of which I could, hypothetically, of course, be attracted to—”

“Kaito, I get it.”

Oh God, he does? This was not how Kaito planned to confess. Not that he had a plan, or anything, because that was more acceptance and consideration than he was willing to give the issue, but this still wasn’t ideal. They were joking about him being a furry literally 30 seconds ago, and now he’s been found out entirely?

His new life objective: never get a crush on a detective again.

“You do?” Kaito inquired, mindful to keep his tone steady.

“Yeah,” Shinichi sighed. “You don’t have to dance around my feelings like that. There’s no reason why I’d take offense that you aren’t attracted to me.”

Kaito’s brain stalled, the only coherent thought in his mind being a _“what,”_ chanted over and over and over again with increasing intensity, and he nearly corrected Shinichi before he realized that was undoubtedly not a good idea. Did he really think that Kaito didn’t have feelings for him? Even after he just rambled much too specifically about how he “theoretically, hypothetically” could?

His _new_ new life objective: figure out how exactly a _detective_ could be so goddamn _dense_.

“Um,” he stammered a beat too late. “Right. Okay.”

“Is something up?” Shinichi asked. He pointedly focused on Kaito’s weird behavior instead of the fact that he’d very candidly said he wasn’t interested. Well, tried to, anyway. It’s a little hard to focus on anything else when the guy you’re in love with says, without hesitation, that the feeling isn’t mutual.

“The sky,” Kaito swiftly responded. Shinichi rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, you know what I meant. That was lame.”

Kaito stared down at his long-abandoned homework, resolving that it likely wouldn’t be finished until he could get his mind to stop buzzing incessantly.

Shinichi gazed up at his ceiling as if it would give him answers, while waiting for Kaito to break the silence.

“No, nothing’s up. Besides my previous answer, obviously, but it seems you’re not too fond of that one,” Kaito replied, projecting more mirth into his voice than the amount he felt.

Shinichi considered it for a moment before replying, nuzzling into his pillow. “You’re deflecting, and I don’t believe you, but I’m too tired to push the issue right now.”

Kaito internally jumped for joy at the prospect of this entire conversation being forgotten.

“We _are_ going to discuss it later, though,” Shinichi amended quickly.

Well, shit.

“Alright, alright, just go to sleep already, obaa-san,” Kaito taunted.

Shinichi rolled his eyes again, though he felt no genuine annoyance, only concern. “If I were my mom, you’d be dead by now. Don’t you have homework to be doing?”

Kaito spared a longsuffering glance to his various papers that he’d just declared a lost cause moments ago, and wondered if Shinichi was some kind of psychic. He was lucky the material was easy for him (his classmates, on the other hand, he couldn’t vouch for). “Homework is for nerds.”

“You have homework. You’re a nerd.”

“I may have homework, but am I doing it? No, therefore I am not a nerd. It’s basic science, Shinichi.”

“Sure, sure.” Shinichi’s tone was caustic, but betrayed by the small smile growing on his face. He tried to suppress it, despite no one else in the room to see it.

(He failed.)

“I’m getting the vibe that you’re not convinced.”

“Nope,” Shinichi replied, popping the ‘p’. “but I’m gonna pass out. Brush my teeth, and change and all, and then completely pass out.”

“Have fun,” Kaito called cheerfully, amused. “Goodnight.”

Shinichi grunted in response, eyes slipping closed despite not having done his nightly routine yet. He heard the line disconnect, and it took all his willpower to drag himself out of bed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

As he laid in bed, now fully prepared to fall asleep, Shinichi found himself kept awake by Kaito’s rejection. He wished that he could just brush it off, take it in stride, but it was affecting him more than he wanted to admit. His last thoughts before finally falling unconscious were a chorus of _“What? No. What? No. What? No.”_

Kaito’s thoughts throughout the rest of his classes were about how he could make up for what obviously had come across as a rejection, without blatantly exposing himself and his feelings. Professors in small class sizes eyed his blank expression oddly, already used to hearing many intelligent contributions from him, and he internally promised to sate them with enough answers in the next lecture. In the future, he hoped that if (when) the time came for him to genuinely confess, he could avoid mentioning the time when he was almost found out because they were talking about _furries._

...He hoped that if (when) the time came for him to genuinely confess, he wouldn’t be faced with the same rejection he’d inadvertently dumped on Shinichi.

He wasn’t able to pay much attention in his classes, that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i live for writing repressed idiots


End file.
